Here’s where to shop farmers markets this season

Saturday is the start to farmers market season and at least five will operate in the Sioux Falls area this year.

The biggest one, Falls Park Farmers Market, opens Saturday on the north side of Falls Park.

“It was a hard winter for our farmers and growers with flooding, a late freeze and power outages, but they’re back on track but had to work a lot harder to get where they needed to be,” said Nicky VanDerWerff, the nonprofit organization’s treasurer.

The market, which is entering its 107th year, is held every Saturday through October from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. While the vegetable selection is limited at this time of year to offerings such as rhubarb, asparagus, leafy greens and herbs, other vendors sell bedding plants, coffee beans, cheese, meats, eggs, baked goods, soap, jewelry and more.

While the market lost two honey producers, three new vendors are joining the lineup this year: Breadico, Little Shire Farm and Herbs 4 You.

Breadico will sell artisan breads, cinnamon rolls and biscotti.

Little Shire Farm of Aurora will offer infused honey, dog treats and natural cleaning products. It also grows 70 varieties of heirloom peppers and will have bedding plants of those to sell at the start of the season, VanDerWerff said.

Herbs 4 You is operated by an herbalist who will offer teas, tinctures, herbal products and beauty products.

The market’s cheese vendor, Valley Side Cheese, recently was bought out by Farm Life Creamery, and the new owner signed up to be part of the market, VanDerWerff said.

There’s live music and food to eat at the market. VanDerWerff and her husband, Kyle, run Skipping Stone Pizza, which serves wood-fired pizzas, including a breakfast version. Shoppers also will find breakfast sandwiches, hamburgers, baked goods and coffee.

Callaway’s Farmers Market will be back this year on the south side of Sioux Falls, offering produce and more from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The season’s first market is Saturday in the parking lot south of the former restaurant at 500 E. 69th St. at Prairie Green Golf Course.

Look’s Market is taking over the restaurant space but wants to keep the market and see it grow, said Chris Iott of Iott’s Greenhouse & Gardens of Ward.

Iott’s and three other vendors are signed up to kick off the year. Shoppers will find bedding plants, seasonal vegetables, meats, pies and locally roasted coffee beans.

The market runs through October.

Pettigrew Central Market kicks off May 11 in The Co-op Natural Foods parking lot at 18th Street and Minnesota Avenue.

Mary’s Kitchen and Gardens will be there to get the season going, and the co-op has room for more vendors, said Patrick Sayler, general manager.

“It’s really open (to the type of vendor). We just ask that they’re a natural grower and local.”

The market will be open from 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays.

The Brandon Farmers Market is back for a second year and growing. It opens in June, with 16 vendors signed up so far and others showing interest, said organizer Julie Lanoue of Lanoue Gardens of Garretson.

The market will be offered twice a week: 4 to 7 p.m. Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. It sets up in the parking lot of Gypsy Trading Co. at 515 N. Splitrock Blvd.

In Hartford, the farmers market was dwindling, so Callie Tuschen, co-owner of the new Buffalo Ridge Brewing, stepped in to revive it. The market will move from the parking lot of the town’s hardware store to downtown, next to the brewery.

It has been renamed Hartford Downtown Market to reflect the location and the fact that it also will include handcrafted items, Tuschen said. Instead of weekly, it will be on the last Thursday of the month from May through October. Hours will be 5 to 8:30 p.m. The limited schedule will make it more of an event for shoppers and hopefully boost sales for vendors, she said.

If the market is popular, the schedule could expand next year.

Tuschen has sent out applications and said at least 30 vendors have expressed interest. She’s expecting that the market will offer an assortment of locally grown foods, baked items and handcrafted goods.